At The Beginning
by RyanGosling4Ever
Summary: It's Harry and the gang's last week at Hogwarts, before Graduation. How in the world was one supposed to say goodbye to the one place where his heart called home? And how in the world do best friends say goodbye to each other?


Working Title: **At The Beginning**

A Harry Potter songfic

By: Kitty (Penname: RyanGosling4Ever)

_A/N: A one-shot Harry Potter songfic. Here's to my writing-HP-fanfiction debut! crosses fingers ; Constructive criticism welcome, but please, no flames! Cut me some slack, please, this is my very first Harry Potter fic:-) Song is **At The Beginning**, by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. Hope you enjoy, and as always, R&R!_

_This story takes place in Harry's 7th Year, in the gang's final week at Hogwarts, before Graduation. It will involve the couples RonxHermione, and some slight HarryxGinny._

"Harry, Ron, can you believe it?" Hermione asked, her voice carrying on a somewhat unbelieving tone. Brushing her light brown hair out of her face, she leaned back in the chair that she was sitting in, finally allowing herself to truly relax for the first time in literally _weeks_.

"What? That our N.E.W.T.s are _finally_ finished and over with?" Ron grinned from where he was sitting in the plush armchair across from her. "That the holidays is just right around the corner?" His blissful grin grew bigger, as he looked at Hermione. "That you're no longer nagging or constantly on our bloody asses about studying for it?"

"Ron!" Hermione looked a bit scandalized, as she gave him a somewhat reproachful look. "The N.E.W.T.s are _extremely_ important! They practically determine your entire _future_! Anyway," she continued. "You did alright on it, didn't you? As I seem to recall, you were rather pompous about it afterwards, strutting around the common room and pushing your 'A's in the faces of anybody who would hold still for a fraction of a second to look. Aren't you _now_ glad that I pushed both you and Harry to study for the exam? Anyway, that _wasn't_ what I'd originally was going to say, Ron. I was _going_ to say that can you believe we're already at the end of our last year at Hogwarts?" Hermione sighed. "It hardly seems real that we…we're really..."

"...graduating..." Harry spoke up for the first time. Staring out the window, he'd been fairly quiet during the conversation so far, lost in his own thoughts. Graduating... The word sounded strange, foreign even, even as he uttered it. Graduating from Hogwarts, the only place he'd really ever been able to call home, other than the Burrow... It meant that he, and the rest of his year's schoolmates, would not be returning back after the holidays... Harry's mind wandered back to the first time he'd set foot in Hogwarts, as a totally lost First Year... Has it really been seven years ago? When the time came, would he be ready to bid Hogwarts a final goodbye?

"..Harry?" Hermione's voice drifted into his thoughts, snapping Harry back to reality. He gave a slight start, before turning to look at her.

"Hm..?" he asked absently.

"A pound sterling for your thoughts?" Hermione shot him a curious look. As both of them had Muggle backgrounds, as they were both reared and brought up with Muggle families, Harry could appreciate that phrase. She gave a slight shake of her head. "I've never seen you _this_ distracted before, even _when_ we were still in classes...Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's just…just fine. I was just thinking, s'all..."

_Himself at eleven years old, finding out for the first time that he was a wizard, and that he'd just been accepted into Hogwarts...On that first train ride over, sharing magical treats with Ron...Facing off against the mountain troll and gaining Hermione's friendship...Saving the Sorcerer's Stone...The Chamber of Secrets...Sirius...The TriWizard Competition..._ The memories were coming in faster and faster swirls within his mind now. _Cedric's death...His struggle with Voldemort at the graveyard...The Prophecy of his birth, and the battle that raged within the Department of Mysteries during his Fifth Year...Sirius's death...Snape's betrayal...Dumbledore's death...His and Ginny's first kiss, and the stunned look on Ron's face...and finally, Malfoy's utterly STUNNING betrayal of the Dark Side, his redemption, and shocking final sacrifice..._

And now...now the only thing that he still had left to do was about to happen in a week... Graduation... When the time came, could he really bid farewell to the one place his heart called _home_? So many --too many-- memories lingered on these grounds. The Quidditch field...Hagrid's hut...The occasional weekend excursions to Hogsmeade... And Ron and Hermione... How in the world was Harry supposed to say goodbye to _those_ two? The three of them had shared so much over the years; the good and the bad, the laughter and the tears, the joy and the pain... And despite the occasional spats every now and then, the trio's friendship had proven time and again to withstand the ultimate test of loyalty.

"…Harry?"

And for the second time in less than a span of five minutes, Harry found himself blinking, yet again, up and over at Hermione, not having a clue as to what she'd just said.

"Hm..?"

"Oh, honestly Harry…" Hermione sighed, exasperated, but nevertheless looking somewhat amused. "I was asking what you and Ginny's plans were for the Yule Ball?"

Harry could feel his face flushing at the thought of the pretty redhead. He tried to look casual at the question, but failed miserably. "Er…well…"

"Wait…what plans?" Ron sat up slightly in his chair. He gave Harry a lingering look. "You _are_ just going to the Ball together, right? No sneaking off to secretly snog in the corridors or anything like that, right…?"

"Oh, come on, Ron!" Harry couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the expression on his best mate's face. Ron had always been exceptionally overprotective of Ginny, though he supposed that _was_ a big brother's job. "We're just going to the Ball together, I promise," Harry reassured Ron, whose face relaxed immensely. He sighed, throwing a small apologetic smile at Harry.

"Sorry…it's just that…Ginny's too…**_bold_** sometimes in her…er…ways of displaying her affections…" Ron scowled a bit. He'd lost track, and had given up a long time ago, in keeping up with how many times he'd caught his sister snogging with one boy or another in the corridors… "I mean…I know that I said that you two could go steady, but…"

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be okay," Hermione cut in breezily, reaching over to give the redhead a couple of good pats on arm for reassurance. The tip of Ron's ear turned a shade of bright crimson at the contact from Hermione, and he quickly reached up with a hand to run it through his fiery red hair, in an attempt to divert his friends' attention from his furious blush. Harry, however, caught his expression, and grinned.

"So what about you two?" he asked, glancing from one to the other, and back again. Hermione looked up at him sharply, and then glanced uncertainly at Ron. Ron, for his part, looked like a deer caught in headlights…

"What…about us…?" he asked cautiously, his face practically aglow now. He, too, exchanged a glance with Hermione.

Harry sighed. He should've known… He would've thought that after the two had _finally_ gotten together at the end of last year, they'd stop with this somewhat annoying denial thing that had been going on for most of their friendship… "You two still haven't asked each other to the Ball yet, have you?" he asked.

"Well…"

"Harry!" A familiar feminine voice called to him, and Harry immediately glanced up. A fond grin came across his features, as he located the source of the voice. Long red hair, as fiery red as that of Ron's, pulled into a loose braid that swung lightly behind her, Ginny smiled as she came up to the group. Stopping next to Harry, the Gryffindor sixth year bent slightly to give him a kiss on the cheek, her braid swinging gracefully over one shoulder. She'd grown up so much from the small girl who Harry had first met from seven years back on a London train platform… The youngest of the Weasleys, who had once been a shy, extremely insecure girl who had once sent him a singing Valentine, had blossomed into a true beauty… Beautiful, and fiercely independent, Ginny Weasley was now sixteen year old, with wings on her feet and ready to soar. Slim and petite, she'd always reminded Harry of a just-blooming flower in the early morning mist...

Smiling warmly at her, he quickly reached over to pull a nearby vacant armchair over, and motioned for her to join them. "Hi, Ginny," he greeted her. "We were just talking about the Ball." Harry filled Ginny in on the happenings of the conversation so far. He glanced over at his two best friends, who were both still quite red in the face, and who, it seemed, were still avoiding looking at each other at all costs. Harry sighed... Ginny noticed the pre-asking-someone-to-the-dance tension in the air also...

"Ron, have you _still_ not asked Hermione yet?" Ginny gave an exasperated sigh at her brother, who was suddenly glaring furiously back at her. "The Ball's tomorrow!"

"And it's really none o' your business!" Ron snapped at his sister irritably. The truth was, he wanted to ask Hermione...but every time he tried to ask her, they were either surrounded by tons of people so that it made asking her completely impossible, or he lost his nerves completely... Almost as if he could magically read his thoughts, Harry suddenly stood up.

"Er, uh...Gin, c'mon, there's something I want to show you..." he announced.

Ginny looked surprised. "What?" she asked, accepting Harry's hand to pull her up.

"It's a surprise..." Harry grinned at his girlfriend. Taking her hand, he led Ginny away, but not before clapping Ron on the shoulder with a tiny smile and muttering "Go get her, mate..." Harry and Ginny left, leaving the pair alone. There was a moment of awkward silence, and then...

"So, Ron..." Hermione had never remembered ever feeling this nervous before...not during her second year, when Professor Lockhart had been teaching, not during her fifth year, when she'd been preparing for her O.W.L.s _and_ had been fighting for her life at the Ministry's Department of Magic...not even this year, during the months surrounding the N.E.W.T.s exams, had she _ever_ felt this nervous... _What's the matter with me...?_ Hermione thought, blushing. _It's just Ron! Anyway, we even got together at the end of last year! So why can't I ask him to a stupid dance...?_

"Er...listen, 'Mione..." Ron started to say at the same time as Hermione. _This is your chance, Ron, so get a grip on your butt and don't blow it! Or you'll end up as the only guy in the school who **won't** have a date for the Yule Ball..._ He looked across at the girl sitting across from him, and already, he could feel his nerve oozing away, and his heart doing weird flips in his ribcage... _What's the matter with me...?_ Ron thought, furious. _It's just Hermione! We've known each other for **ages**! We're even **together** now! So, what's the big deal about asking her to a stupid dance...?_

"Iwasthinking, doyouwantto…y'know…?" The words all tumbled out of Hermione's lips in a jumbled heap, in a barely comprehensible string of words.

"WannagototheBall…er…with…me…?" Ron blurted out at the exact same time, in another string of barely comprehensible words. Realizing what the other had said, they both stared at each other for a moment.

"Were you…going to ask me…?" Hermione started to say, blinking a couple of times in surprise as she looked at Ron.

"That…depends…" Ron said slowly and cautiously, eyeing Hermione somewhat suspiciously. "What were _you_ about to say…?"

"I…well…" Hermione suddenly looked extremely flustered. "I asked you first, Ron!"

Ron sighed. They were alone in the Gryffindor common room, with no-one to overhear…looked like it was really now or never… "Er…I…" _Bloody hell, why was this so hard!_ He took a deep breath. "'Mione, wanna go to the…Ball with me?" Ron muttered.

"Sorry, I didn't quite get that. What was that, Ron?" Hermione asked lightly, with a teasing smile.

"Don't make me say it again, Hermione, 'cause I won't!" Ron looked at her.

"I'm just joking, Ron!" Hermione laughed. "Of course I will!" Now that the tension was finally over, Ron very visibly relaxed, as he flashed an awkward, yet clearly relieved grin at her.

"As long as you don't tread on my toes, Ron," Hermione added as an afterthought, with a grin back at him of her own.

"What do you mean as long as _I_ don't tread on _your_ toes?" Ron demanded. "What about _you_ not stepping all over _my_ toes, hm?"

"It's a clearly known fact that girls _never_ tread on their dancing partner's toes, Ron!" Hermione sniffed.

"Say _what_?" Ron looked at her. "Where'd you learn _that_ at? Let me guess…" he grinned at her. "In one of your books? Ballroom Waltz 101: Chapter 23?" After a pause, Ron grinned. "In fact, how about we bet on that? The loser of this bet, the one who steps on a toe first during a dance, has to…I dunno…" He cast his mind around for a consequence. "Has to…sing a song in front of the entire student body at the end of the graduation procession next week."

"_What_?" Hermione stared at Ron. "Professor McGonagall would _never_ allow that, Ron!"

"Is that backing out of your claim?" Ron's grin grew. Hermione's face flushed.

"Oh, you are so on…"

**Well, there it is! Chapter One! ;; Loved it? Hated it? Didn't care one way or the other for it? Please leave me a review, and tell me how I did! Like I said above, this is my first attempt at writing Harry Potter, so some of the character interactions and dialogs/actions might just be a tad off… . '**

**Up next, a sneak peak at Chapter Two! Preparations for the Ball begins, and the event gets under way. Who will win the bet? Will have some HarryxGinny fluffy moments (because hey, we all love fluff! ), but will mostly concentrate on the RonxHermione coupling, much like this first chapter was.**


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